PUEBLO, COLORADO

Pueblo, at an elevation of 4,695 feet, is located
in southern Colorado, 40 miles south of Colorado
Springs and 110 miles south of Denver.
Over the years, Pueblo has experienced a slow
but steady growth to a population of 102,319 in
2000. Latinos comprise approximately 50 percent
of the city's population. The remainder
is extremely diverse, and diversity has been
a common theme since the city's inception.
While the city has been aggressive in pursuing
economic development in recent years, most
locals do not want to see a dramatic population
increase. Part of Pueblo's attractiveness is
its manageable size combined with its urban
amenities.

Pueblo has a rich history. Its location at
the junction of Fountain Creek and the Arkansas
River has made it suitable for settlements.
As early as the sixteenth century Spaniards
were in the area. The French established a
trading post around 1740. In the late fall of
1806, after the United States acquired the region
through the Louisiana Purchase, Zebulon
Pike set up a defensive position in what is now
Pueblo before beginning his unsuccessful attempt
to climb the mountain that bears his
name, Pikes Peak. In the 1840s fur traders built
Fort Pueblo, and, later in the decade, the explorer
John C. Frémont visited the area. In a
sad incident in 1854 Ute Indians massacred a
group of settlers at Fort Pueblo. The name
Pueblo would continue with the establishment
of the city in the 1860s. As is often the case,
the city planning was an imprecise process. It
was not until the twentieth century that three
distinct settlements became one town. In the
twentieth century Pueblo's greatest disaster
was the flood of 1921, during which there was a
catastrophic loss of life and property.

Following the gold rush of the late 1850s
Pueblo became a natural site for ranching,
farming, and sheepherding. The arrival of
the railroad in 1876 created a varied economy.
Gen. William Jackson Palmer, a prominent
southern Colorado entrepreneur and the
founder of Colorado Springs, played a prominent
role in constructing a steelworks. Completed
in 1882, the steelworks and its laborers
have had an integral role in the economic and
social life of the city. At times, more than
half of Pueblo's population worked in the steel
mill. More recently, Pueblo's economy has become
more diversified. Some of the largest
employers are in the medical, educational,
industrial, governmental, and telemarketing
fields. Pueblo is also home to the U.S. Army
Chemical Depot, the Federal Consumer Information
Office, and the University of Southern
Colorado. In politics, Pueblo has developed
into a Democratic enclave in a generally
Republican state. The city is usually a campaign
stop for national Democratic figures.

Notable personalities include Thomas M.
Bowen, a hard-drinking lawyer who received
the Medal of Honor during the Civil War and
eventually became a judge and U.S. senator.
Ed "Dutch" Clark was an all-American football
player who set rushing records that stood
for over thirty years with the Detroit Lions.
Points of interest in the Pueblo area include
Lake Pueblo State Park, San Isabel National
Forest, and the City Park complex (which includes
the Pueblo Zoo). Pueblo is also home
to the Colorado State Fair.

Frederick C. Matusiak
University of Southern Colorado

Dodds, Joanne West. They All Came to Pueblo: A Social History. Virginia Beach VA: Donning Company Publishers,
1994.